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Council Defers Local Environmental Plan Yet Again
At its September 9 meeting, Hawkesbury City Council confirmed that one of its most important planning responsibilities the review of the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) has once again been pushed aside.
A Decade of Delay
The LEP is the blueprint for how land in the Hawkesbury can be used - shaping housing, business growth, rural land, and environmental protection.
The current plan has been in place since 2012. A housekeeping update drafted in 2015 was never adopted. Council has since missed its five-year review deadlines in both 2017 and 2022.
Significant work was actually done in late 2021, with a new draft taken through the NSW Government’s “Gateway” process. But in January 2022, councillors voted through a mysterious rescission motion that halted the process. Even today, neither the public nor many in Council circles seem to understand why.
Community Frustration
The latest six-monthly Operational Plan report shows the LEP review has now been formally deferred to a future plan, joining 16 other actions that were delayed.
Local business groups have been vocal in their frustration. One business owner summed it up bluntly:
“Businesses can’t plan to expand … Hawkesbury is a planning basket case and dead to business growth.” says Hawkesbury Business Group & BLOR Business Council in a joint statement.
"This ongoing uncertainty leaves developers, investors, and families wanting to build or subdivide facing years of planning gridlock."
"We wish we could build in Hawkesbury, but its to uncertain whether we could ever get approval" said Deborah.
Out of Step with State Strategy
The delay also places Hawkesbury out of alignment with state-level planning. Both the Greater Sydney Regional Plan and the Western City District Plan call for councils to modernise their planning instruments. Council’s own Local Strategic Planning Statement 2040, adopted in 2021, highlighted LEP and Development Control Plan updates as essential actions.
Deferring the LEP again represents a missed opportunity to bring local rules into line with broader strategic visions for growth, housing, and sustainability.
Why It Matters
Without an updated LEP:
- Housing supply and affordability remain uncertain.
- Businesses cannot expand with confidence.
- Infrastructure planning lags behind growth.
- The community is left in the dark about how the Hawkesbury will manage its future.
The Bigger Picture
Council’s progress report boasted an 85% completion rate for its operational plan, but the LEP deferral overshadows much of that achievement.
For residents, the message is clear: while Council celebrates smaller wins, the biggest planning job of all shaping the Hawkesbury’s future is still on the shelf.
👉 The Gazette will continue to follow the fate of the LEP review and press for clarity on when this vital planning tool might finally be updated.
